Wave-motor.



No. 731,730. P PATENTED JUNE 2a, 1903.

w. s. JACOBS, WAVE MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 13. 1903.

UNITE STATES Patented June 23, 1 901%.

; PATENT OFFICE.

WAVE-MOTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 731,780, dated June 23, 1903. Applicatitin filed February 13, 1903. Serial No- 143,213. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit knownthat 1, WILLIAM S. J ACOBS, of

Malden, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WVave-Motors,

of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to utilize the up-and -down movements of a floating vessel or other buoyant support; and it consists in a wavemotor comprising substantially vertical guides having means for attachment to a floating support, a weight movable 011 said guides, a spring or springsyieldingly supporting the weight and cooperating with 15 the force of gravitation in reciprocating the weight on the guides when the floating support is moving up and down, and means for utilizing the motion and power thus imparted to the weight for the performance of any desired work, such as rotating a shaft, reciprocating a pump-plunger, &c.

The invention also consists in certain incidental improvements, all of which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figures 1 and 2 represent elevations of a motor embodying my inventiomtaken from different points of view.

. 8 represents a section on line 3 f Fig.

2. Fig. 4 represents a section on E1164 4 of i Fig. 2. Fig. 5 represents a section on line 5 "vertical guides, of which there 4 5 of Fig. 2. Figs. 6 and 7 represeutsectional views showing means for lockingthe weight to the guides when it is desired to prevent the operation of the motor;

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures.

I11 the drawings, a a represent substantially may be any suitable number, four being shown in this case, affixed at their lower ends to a base a, which is adapted for attachment to a floating support, such as the deckof a vessel. The upper ends of the guides are preferably connected by a head or spider a 1) represents a weight which is adapted to move vertically on the guides and may be engaged therewith in any suitable way. I have here shown the weight provided with ears Z) I) atits upper and lower ends, said ears having orifices through which the guide rods pass. I have also sh own the weight provided support the weight and permit it to'descend under the momentum imparted to it by the movement of the vessel, the springs subsequently reacting and raising the weight, so that an up-and-down movement is imparted to the weight by the conjoint action of the springs and the movements of the vessel.

I have provided means for utilizing the above-described motion of the weight, said means in the present embodiment of my invention being as follows: To the weight and projecting upwardly from it is affixed a vertical rack (1, adapted to slide in a guide e. Said rack meshes with a gear e,1oosely mounted upon a shaft f. Said shaft is journaled in bearings f ,affixed to two of the guiderods, and is provided with a pulley f to sup port a belt for communicating motion from the shaft. Instead of the pulley f a gear or any other suitable motion-transmitting device may be employed. The gear 6, which, as above stated, is loose on the shaft f, is provided with means whereby it is locked to the shaft when rotated by" the downward movement of the weight b and rack d,'but rotates loosely on the shaft when the weight and rack are moved upwardly by the springs. The shaft is therefore given an intermittent rotation in one direction only, it being at rest when the weight is rising and rotated when the weight is descending. The means for making the gear alternately fast and loose on the shaft may be an ordinary coaster-brake mechanism, such as that illustrated in Fig. 5, or any other suitable mechanism may be employed for this purpose.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I show means for locking the weight against movement on the guiderods when the operation of the motor is not desired. Said means comprise two wedges "ii, jointed together aty and adapted to be inserted between one of the guide-rods a and the walls of the orifices in the ears I), through which said guide-rod passes. When the motor is free to operate, the wedges M are withdrawn, as shown in Fig. 6. Vhen it is desired to lock the motor, the Wedges are pushed inwardly, as shown in Fig. 7, and are thus caused to prevent vertical movement of the weight.

70 70 represent spring-bufiers placed upon the guide-rods below the weight, and 7t 70 represent similar buffers placed upon the guiderods above the weight, said buffers being adapted to yieldingly arrest the downward and upward movement of the weight.

In practice I propose to employ a plurality of the above-described motors located at different parts of the vessel to take advantage of the different movements imparted to the vessel under different conditions. For instance, when the vessel is rolling motors located near the sides of the vessel at opposite sides of the keel will be advantageously operated. hen the vessel is pitching, motors near the stern and bow will be in advantageous position.

The rack (Z is here shown as held in engagement with the gear 6 by means of a yoke 0, supported by the shaft f, and its upper end is engaged with a cross-head 1), adapted to slide on two of the guides a.

I claim-.

1. AWave-motor comprising a floating support, a weight movable by gravitation relavertical guides having means for attachment to a floating support, a weight movable on said guides, a spring or springs yieldingly supporting the weight, said springs cooperai'ing with the force of gravitation to reciprocate the weight on the guides when the floating support is moving up and down, means for utilizing the motion thus imparted to the weight, and means for locking the weight to the guides to make the weight inoperative.

4. A wave-motor comprising substantially vertical guides having means for attachment to a floating support, a weight movable on said guides, a spring or springs yieldingly supporting the weight, said springs cooperating with the force of gravitation to reciprocate the weight on the guides when the floating support is moving up and down, means for utilizing the motion thus imparted to the weight, and yielding buffers above and below the weight for yieldingly checking its movements.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM S. JACOBS. l Vitnesses:

O. F. BROWN,

BATCHELDER. 

